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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

"Spike" sneak peek... (first machined body)

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Appleton said:
What about powder coating ?
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I was thinking the same thing. The last renders had that look to me. Given Jim's deep roots in sponsoring Funny Car Drag Racing, that might add another styling cue with deference to his past (Design DNA).
 
Brook Willard said:
Very interesting indeed. If memory serves, invar is somewhat difficult to work with in certain cases. I believe it has a habit of settling over time... a slight deformation like that could throw a wrench into the optics situation. I'm sure you're all much more up to speed on such things than I am. Will the parts be cast or milled?
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Invar actually is the metal of choice in numberous sensitive applications, because it does not contract or expand in temperature changes, and is a very solid, heavy metal (you are right, its a pain in the ass to work with). Some problems that other very expensive cameras had were fixed by third parties with Invar, and its been used in telescopes for many years to offest a focus change from temperature variances (summer to winter) over a period of an entire year.

Invar, as some of you may be scratching your head thinking "I swear I heard of that before!".. was made famous by Sony back in the day by using it in their Invar Shadow Masks in televisions.. to stop smearing of Television pixels from heat expansion from tubes.

It is expensive though, and very very very heavy, and a pain in the ass to work with (more $) so an alternative would be great if there was one to be found.
 
Back in my Lockheed days we used to make some of our hinges and latches out of Invar. Great stuff to have when you have sun on one side and cold dark space on the other. Speaking of crazy metals... try Nitronic 60, that stuff is near impossible to machine. The guys at our shop used to cry when we called that out on drawings.
 
Curt you talk like your 80 years old heh heh heh..

isnt nitronic what they make boats out of now because they are something like 100 times more corrosion resistant then stainless steel?
 
It's been interesting reading everyone's comments about the body! It looks a lot like the renders did to me, so I'm surprised at the level of attention the design has gotten - but I suppose just the fact that there's actually something physical here is the cool part. Myself, I like the black powder coating that all the renders had... shiny doesn't bode well in my filmmaking experience (regardless of how "cool" it looks)... but then again, as long as the thing does 4K to my onboard mini-RAID, he could make it purple and I'd still lay down the cash. Awesome news, Jim... can't wait to see where you take it from here! :)
 
The finish will be textured powder coat. Unless we change our mind.

Jim
 
Good to hear, Jim. :cool:

Congrats on everything you've accomplished so far; I think the way you've done what you've done will ultimately speak more than the product you machine at the end of the day... and I know that a lot of people are behind you in supporting that vision. Keep on truckin'! :)
 
Jarred Land said:
Curt you talk like your 80 years old heh heh heh..

isnt nitronic what they make boats out of now because they are something like 100 times more corrosion resistant then stainless steel?
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I'm not sure about the boating uses but we used it because of its galling resistance... its not good to have little bits of metal on glass optics floating 20,000 miles in space. I'm sure it would be good in boats though.. usually galling resistance equates to corrosion resistance too. BTW.. I am 128 years old (Mercury years)

Jim, going from the magnesium to aluminum is going to be a obvious weight gain... hopefully you padded your weight numbers early on. On the plus side you'll get a fairly significant improvement in thermal conductivity going to the aluminum. So basically a slight weight increase for a reliability increase, sounds good to me :)
 
Curt... we have been conservative all the way. :-) except maybe the schedule. We have our hands full there.

Jim
 
So if the magnesium had worked out then we may have had a 6lb camera ;)
j/k great work so far. BTW, I'm very anxious to see more proto pics.
 
I think we will still beat the estimates...

Jim
 
CVB said:
On the plus side you'll get a fairly significant improvement in thermal conductivity going to the aluminum. So basically a slight weight increase for a reliability increase, sounds good to me :)
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Yes indeed.. Im pretty sure everyone here would give a pound for increased reliability and lower operating temperature :)
 
I'll take an extra 2lbs if she stays cool...and sturdy :)
 
Jarred Land said:
Yes indeed.. Im pretty sure everyone here would give a pound for increased reliability and lower operating temperature :)
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Amen to that (meaning "I agree")
 
I understand the textured powdercoat from a functional perspective. I think a smooth black finish like on the Cooke lens would look nicer and complement the curves of the camera.
 
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